Outdoor lighting

Why sustainable procurement of outdoor lighting?

• Many installations are old - often more than 40 years - with great potential for replacement and renovation of these and related environmental improvements
• Approx. 60 TWh are consumed by street lighting in Europe, the potential for savings is 38 TWh.
• A reduction in energy consumption results in reduced emissions of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide, eutrophicating and acidifying nitrogen oxides, acidifying sulphur dioxide.
• Sweden has the highest number of installed lighting luminaires per capita: 2.1 million luminous points (2005).
• Street lighting is the second largest item in terms of municipal operation and maintenance costs (25%). The largest item in terms of street lighting is electricity consumption.
• Energy turnover can be halved while improved light quality is achieved
• Other environmental requirements are also important, such as waste disposal management in order to achieve a resource-efficient society and the chemical requirements for achieving a non-toxic environment
• Since it is a case of existing installations (with a long service life), procurement is very rare, and there is a great need for recommendations and assistance which is why these criteria have been developed.

Important decisions which affect the environment are taken early on in the planning phase. In addition to setting requirements for lighting installations and their components, it is important to set environmental requirements on the contractor that will build the installation, as well as on lighting consultants and the contractor that shall be responsible for the maintenance of the installation.